NADIA

My eyes squeezed shut as I waited for the pain, expecting it to come… instead, a sturdy hand wrapped around my waist, locking my body against a hard chest.

“Don't scream. It's me.”

The familiar voice tingled in my ears, the fight in my body ceasing almost instantly as my eyes went wide.

Killian?

As my body went lax against his, his palm over my mouth loosened and his hand around my waist fell away as he stepped back.

I turned to face him as he let go of me, my wide eyes meeting his steel-grey ones. “What are you doing here at this time of the night?” I yelled in a whisper.

He glanced at me for a second before raising one shoulder and turning to place the knife back in its original position.

I couldn't believe he was standing in front of me. The last time I'd seen him was a year ago before he suddenly stopped popping in like the devil he was.

My gaze roamed his body, taking in his appearance. His hair was shorter now. He looked well put together despite his bicep straining against his dress shirt.

But those eyes still burned with mischief and trouble like they always did a year ago.

“Does your father know you're here?” I asked again when he didn't respond.

“Yeah… actually, no.” He met my gaze, a small smile spreading over his face. One that died away quickly as his gaze dipped to my body for a split second.

He cleared his throat and I regarded him with a look.

“I was supposed to be here earlier in the morning, but my flight got delayed. Then I stopped by to see a friend. Before I knew it, time had gone and here I am.”

My lips pursed and my brows furrowed. “You couldn't wait till morning like a normal person?”

“If you're going to interrogate me, don't do it while wearing that.”

My gaze dropped and I froze.

Oh my God! I forgot my shawl! And here I was standing in front of him with everything on display!

My jaw dropped. I was mortified.

“I left my jacket in the living room—”

Without waiting for him to finish, I darted out of the kitchen and zeroed in on his suit jacket propped against the head of the sofa.

I grabbed it, shoved my little hands in it, and wrapped it around my body.

I was immediately hit with the scent of his cologne.

Woody… peppermint…

I should go back to the bedroom and pretend none of this happened…

Fuck! How could I—

“Don't beat yourself up. I didn't look long enough to commit anything to memory,” Killian said from the kitchen, and somehow that didn't make me relax at all.

I inhaled deeply, his scent going straight to my brain. I turned around and walked back into the kitchen. When I got there, the broken case had been cleared up and Killian’s head was buried in the fridge.

“Uhm… sorry about that. I wasn't… I didn't—”

“It's okay. Now, why isn't there anything to eat here?” he asked.

“Uhm, there's a Tupperware in the last row. I made lasagna for your dad this morning and…” I trailed off, watching as he shut the fridge gently and shoved the Tupperware into the microwave.

“If I'd known you were coming, I’d have prepared something ahead.”

“My father didn't tell you?” He arched a slanted eyebrow and I shook my head. “Why? Trouble in paradise?”

I swallowed, looking away. “No. Everything is good. He probably forgot.”

“Hmm. Forgot? You're not fooling anyone, Nadia, at least not me.”

I ignored him, forced my gaze on the microwave as he moved around the kitchen.

“Nadia, I'm curious about something.”

“What's that?”

“Have you ever thought about hooking up with someone else?”

I croaked.

He looked at me, giving me his undivided attention. “Like someone younger?” His eyes burned. That intense gaze roamed my body and it was almost as if I wasn't wearing his jacket… like he could see everything underneath.

My cheeks were on fire. I darted my gaze, my mouth opening and closing a million times without a single sound coming from it.

A chuckle echoed in the air and I spared him a glance to find him leaning against the cabinet with his arms folded.

“God, you're still the same. So easily flustered with those red chubby cheeks giving you away each time.”

My hands fisted and I glared at him, my teeth grinding against each other.

Yep! He certainly hasn't changed a single bit!

I huffed. “Seems like you have everything under control here. I'm going to bed.”

“Bed? Really? Won't you at least keep me company? I am your guest after all!”

I rolled my eyes. “It's not like I knew you were coming. Besides, guests do not scurry around the kitchen like rats.”

“I was starving. Can you blame me?” He held out his palms. The microwave dinged and he took out the Tupperware, scooped a healthy portion of the lasagna, grabbed a loaf of garlic bread and placed it on the kitchen island, reached for the glass cups and tilted his head.

“Will you join me?”

“No, I’m still full from dinner.”

“Okay, but keep me company. I can't eat alone.” He grabbed a stool and sat down with the bottle of wine and glass cup placed next to his plate.

“So, how have you been?” he asked as I settled on a stool across from him.

“Same ol’, same ol’. You?”

“Good… I guess. Except my life has become boring without my usual flair of amusement.” He winked.

His eyes closed as he ate the lasagna. “Have I told you what a good cook you are?”

I grinned, unable to stop the blush spreading on my cheeks. “Yes. A million times.”

“This is way better than your mom’s lasagna. Speaking of moms, how are your parents? When was the last time you saw them?”

I shrugged. “They're okay. Although I barely see them except when Elias sends them gifts. It's like I don't exist to them anymore.”

He stayed silent, staring at me with a knowing look before saying, “You shouldn't bother with that. Life with parents is genuinely overrated, take it from me.”

I chuckled, staring at him as he went back to wolfing down his very late dinner.

“Killian,”

“Hm.”

“You still haven't told me why you came back. It's been what? A year now, and you suddenly return out of the blue.”

He paused, a piece of bread sticking out of his mouth.

“I don't think you expect me to believe that you came back for the lasagna.”

“It's a great lasagna.”

I sighed. “Killian”. Tell me. What happened?”

His eyes fell, hesitation written all over his face before he finally looked up.

“The company is about to declare bankruptcy… and I'm here to save it.”

My jaw dropped. Bankruptcy? “Elias multimillion-dollar company was declaring bankruptcy?

“That's impossible. How did that even happen?”

Killian patted the corner of his lips with a napkin. “Someone from the company is embezzling funds, and I'm taking a huge guess that he didn't tell you because he's the one siphoning funds from his company.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would he do that?”

Killian paused, his gaze holding mine, and there it was again. That burning intensity that made my skin sing.

“You know why, Nadia. You know why.”

NADIA

I opened my eyes and instantly regretted it.

My head hurt. Throbbing like it was about to blow.

Even the sunlight coming in from the windows wasn't enough to clear my foggy vision.

Then a sharp, pungent smell hit me.

I reeked of alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol.

“Ahh,” I groaned slightly. “I really shouldn't have drunk so much.” My fingers rubbed against my forehead as I tried to will the stampede happening in my head to a stop.

My eyes opened, looking around the room.

For a minute I didn't know where I was, then it hit me. I was in Elias room.

My gaze fell on a glass of water beside painkillers on the bedside table, and to the bathroom, where I could hear the sound of a running shower.

I looked back at the glass cup and reached for it. It's only fair for him to take care of me, seeing as he was the reason I was this wrecked in the first place.

Hearing your husband is intentionally bankrupting his company to fund the lifestyle of his mistress is news no woman ever wants to hear in her life.

But I'd heard it last night, and it had hit me so badly that I reached for a bottle of whiskey and drowned my sorrows at the bottom of the bottle.

I took a large sip of water and threw the painkillers into my mouth before gulping and flushing them down with more water.

I leaned back against the headboard and shut my eyes.

A scene played in my head, and I imagined how the confrontation with Elias would go. Would he admit it? Or would he lie to my face?

Maybe I could make him see reason…

My eyes snapped open. My blurry vision landed on the bathroom door, where the shower was still running.

Of course! This wasn't the time for me to mourn or grieve what our marriage could have been. It's time for me to show Elias what I'm capable of.

If I could prove to him that I could help him out of this bankruptcy, that he didn't need to be with that gold-digger…

A smile spread across my face as the plan grew into something beautiful and magical in my head.

Gently, I placed my feet on the floor, stood upright, and walked up to the bathroom, my hands gliding against the wall for support.

I reached for the doorknob and tilted it, glad to find it open.

I walked in, stared at the shower glass that was now clouded with steam.

I closed the door behind me and moved to the glass door, sliding it open.

Elias stood under the shower, his back turned to me, and my eyes roamed his body, staring at the defined muscles on his back, his broad shoulders, the lines leading to his perky ass.

You've always loved me being spontaneous, right? Well, here's something spontaneous for you.

I slid the door shut behind me, but before he could turn to face me, I covered the distance between us.

My hand went around his body, and my face pressed against his back.

My nightgown from last night soaking up quickly from the water dripping down his back.

“Elias,” I whispered, my hands drifting over his defined abs and V-line.

Since when did he feel so… fit?

“I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn't have spoken to you the way I did,” I began, one hand caressing his abdomen, and the other drifting lower. “I was just feeling hurt and didn't know how to deal with it.”

My hand moved to his hardness and caressed it softly.

I felt the moment he tensed against me. “Can't you see how much I really care about you?”

He was way too big, and even with both hands, I could barely grip the entire length of him.

Yet, I didn't stop.

My hands moved, striking him, rubbing my fingers against his tip, the water making it easier for my hand to glide over the length of him.

Feeling and hearing him respond to my touch made me smile.

“Give me a chance, just one. And I’ll show you that I'm much better than Chloe. I can give you everything she can't.”

Let me prove myself to you…

I pressed my lips against his back.

That's when he moved. The shower turned off, big hands covered mine where I was currently holding the object of his arousal.

His head angled as he gazed at me from over his shoulder, and his lips moved.

“What are you doing?”

Almost like thunder, his voice zapped through my hazy state, and my blurry vision cleared instantly.

I froze.

Too scared to breathe, hoping this was an illusion. But it wasn't.

The man in the bathroom wasn't Elias! It was Killian!

As if my brain had just processed the information, the reality of my current position suddenly hit me.

I jerked away from him, ran out of the bathroom—which I now realized was the guest room—and raced for my bedroom.

I rushed in, shut the door behind me, and sank to my knees.

I… I… I fondled my step-son’s dick!

My gaze fell to my trembling hands… the same ones that had just—

“But how could they look so alike?!” I asked aloud, my breathing erratic as I forced myself to my feet, coming face to face with my pale and mortified reflection in the mirror.

Thanks to the stupid alcohol I had drunk, I couldn't even tell my husband and his son apart!

I ran my hands through my hair. “Oh, what do I do? I can't face him! I'll die of embarrassment!”

But I have to face him. I have to apologize to him. I just harassed the man!

“For fuck's sake! Why didn't he say anything? He just stood there and took it!” I almost yanked my hair out of my head.

It's not like you gave him a chance to do so.

“Oh, just kill me. Kill me now.”

***

After pacing in my bedroom for what felt like hours, I finally got dressed for breakfast, ready to face Killian and hopefully apologize to him at the table if Elias wasn't there.

Like I'd predicted, Elias was absent, and only Killian sat at the dining table with a frown on his face. He looked upset.

Of course he is. His father's wife literally harassed him in his bathroom!

Fuck! I'm going to jail.

I swallowed, taking hesitant steps toward him.

He didn't look up, almost as if he didn't hear me. I covered the distance between us, standing a few steps away.

“K-Killian.”

His gaze met mine, and my confidence went to dust.

My eyes darted away, and my fingers played with the sides of my dress.

“I want to—”

“Here, take this,” he said, throwing a brown envelope on the dining table.

My goodness! He didn't even waste any time to sue me! I'm going to jail. I'm going to jail because I can't handle a little alcohol.

“I know I made a mistake, and I promise it wasn't intentional—”

“What are you on about?” He frowned.

“Don't file a complaint about me, please,” my teary gaze darted to the envelope. “I don't want to go to jail.”

“What the—Are you still drunk? My father told me to give that to you.”

I blinked. “Oh.”

Wiping my tears away, I reached for the envelope and tore open the seal.

I pulled out the document inside, and my stomach dropped.

“Divorce papers?!”

NADIA

My hand trembled as I read the words printed on the papers over and over again. Slowly, they blurred as tears pooled in my eyes.

“B-But why?” I whispered, looking up at Killian as a tear dropped down my cheek.

He shrugged nonchalantly, refusing to meet my gaze.

My eyes closed. “N-No, no. There… this has to be a mistake. There's no way he'd do this to me.”

“Nadi.” I paused, meeting his gaze as the old nickname slipped out in a soft whisper. “He signed it already.”

Frantically, I flipped through the papers and found a total of five signatures. Elias signatures.

“He said you have twenty-four hours to sign them before the lawyer comes to pick them up.”

“Stop it!” I screeched, glaring at Killian. If my eyes could shoot lasers, he'd be dust right now. “I don't want to hear his words from you!”

I yanked out my phone, angrily swiping through my contacts for his number. “I want to hear him say those words to me himself!” I whispered harshly.

His phone rang for a few seconds before he disconnected it.

I huffed, trying again and angrily wiping away my tears.

The same thing happened. My fingers tightened around the phone and I tried three more times until the call no longer connected.

He blocked me.

“Nadia.”

I looked at Killian and saw him staring at his phone, his brows pulled tight and his lips stretched thin.

When he looked up, his eyes held a spark of anger and concern in them.

“He won't pick up.”

I blinked, staring at his phone screen where Elias message was displayed.

Tell her to quit calling me. All I want are her signatures on those papers.

“Honestly, you should have seen this coming.” Killian sighed. “There's a clause. You can stay in the house, pretend everything's fine until he marries Chloe.”

“Chloe?” I muttered. For a moment, the dining room was silent until my head tilted backward and a laugh so dark and empty rang out from my lips.

My husband of ten years was divorcing me to get married to his secretary?!

“No.” I chuckled, throwing the papers on the table. “I'm not signing it.”

I turned to leave, muttering under my breath, “There's no way I'm signing it.”

“This isn't something you can avoid. He's already moved on.”

“I don't care!” I swung around and yelled at Killian. “That doesn't change anything. I've been married to him for ten fucking years. The least he can do is say it to my face that he wants to divorce me to marry that slut of his!”

“Wasn't I good enough?” The tears rolled now, uncontrollably, and so did my rage. I wanted to murder someone.

“I gave him everything! He's old enough to be my father, and yet he married me, and I gave him everything! My life, my heart, my soul, my body!” My body shook, my veins strained against my neck from how hard I screamed.

“I trusted him.” My voice broke. “Ten years! He wasted ten good years of my life! Plucked me out of my family like some helpless chick, only to use me and dump me once he found someone better. Screw him! Screw her! Screw all of you!”

I spun around and dashed to my room. I slammed the door shut behind me, causing my room to rattle from the force.

I collapsed facedown on my bed, and for the first time in a long time, I cried my soul out.

***

I had no idea how many hours had flown by when the sound of my door creaking open finally pierced through the quiet air.

I continued to stare into space, paying whoever it was that walked into my room no mind. I was broken, shattered beyond words.

“Nadia,” Killian’s low, soft voice sounded in the air. I felt the bed dip at my feet, but I ignored him.

“I won't pretend to know how you feel, but I can at least sympathize with you. You're… a sweet soul, and my father deserves to rot in hell for what he did to you. He has no right—”

“Killian, please.” I cut him off, unable to bear the words that escaped him like he'd practiced them over and over again. “I just want to be left alone.”

He sighed. “I'm clearly very bad at this, so I'll go straight to the point.”

I heard him adjust himself on the bed.

“Are you seriously going to let him do that to you?”

I blinked, slowly turning to stare at him. “What?”

“I'm asking if you're going to let Elias and Chloe walk all over you just because…”

I scoffed with disbelief. “You sound like I have a choice to oppose this divorce.”

“Oppose it? Hell, I want you to accept it and make him wish he'd never even looked your way from the start. I want you to seize this opportunity to make him hurt like he hurt you, to make them regret ever treating you like you were disposable.”

I straightened up, his words sending a jolt of life through me. “How?”

“Easy. Attack him where it would hurt most. Destroy everything he's ever worked for, snatch it from right under his feet, and watch him scramble helplessly, unable to do anything.” His eyebrows slanted, and his eyes glinted with undiluted fury.

“Why cry over what he took from you… when you could take something back?”

The only thing Elias loved more than his life was…

“His company? You want me to destroy his company?” I asked with a shocked frown. “But I don't know the first thing about destroying a company.”

“That's why you have me. Join me, and let's show him what hell really looks like.”

“You're just trying to use me.” I scowled. Killian hated his father — that wasn't news to me — but hiding behind wanting to help me didn't sit well with me.

“And I'm offering myself to be used.” He smirked.

I held his gaze for longer than three seconds, studying him. And then I straightened, damning it all.

“What do I get in return?”

Killian’s eyes lit up like a bulb, his lips spreading into a cunning smirk. “Now you're talking.”